Donors to rappel 13 stories for charity

April 24, 2013|By Ariel Barkhurst, Sun Sentinel

Sixty men, women and teens will jump off a 146-foot-tall building on Fort Lauderdale's beach Saturday.

Don't worry. They'll probably be fine. They'll be outfitted with rappelling equipment and overseen by certified ropes instructors. The plan is for them to hop down the side of the 13-story B Ocean as part of a charity event for Gilda's Club Fort Lauderdale, a group that gives emotional and social support to cancer patients and their loved ones.

Among the jumpers will be Howard Jacoby, 60, a survivor of non-Hodgkins lymphoma who attends Gilda's Club support group meetings about twice a month. He's rappelled several times before, when his son was a Boy Scout, so he said he's not terrified.

Anyone with $1,000 in donations can sign up to rappel, right until the last minute, said Kim Kohl, events coordinator for Gilda's Club. The only physical requirement is that rappellers be between 100 and 300 lbs. Rappelling starts at 9 a.m. and goes until 3 p.m.

The public is welcome to come watch the event at 999 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard.

B Ocean saw it as a "once in a lifetime opportunity to live on the edge like an action star, and it benefits an incredible organization," said general manager Eduardo Fernandez.

A team of instructors with Over the Edge, which puts on rappelling events for charities nationwide, will help conduct the first such event in the Fort Lauderdale area.

The 60 rappellers who have signed up have raised more than $70,000 so far, Kohl said. On Friday, politicians such as Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler will rappel.